Exploring the Beginning of Truth
by LizAMWriter
Summary: Abby usually doesn't watch the gang interrogate suspects; however, she witnesses the severe "bad cop" act by Tony and Gibbs and it upsets her. The men comfort her once they realize what has happened, and Abby learns much about Gibbs and Tony in the process.


Title: Exploring the Beginning of Truth

Author: LizAMWriter

Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction using characters from the world of NCIS, which is owned by Donald Bellisario. I do not own NCIS, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Abby Sciuto, or Anthony DiNozzo. This story is a work of fiction and not intended to be part of the "official canon" of the series. The plot, such as it is, is mine, as is the baddie Clyde. I am not making any money off of writing fanfiction, this story included. No copyright infringement is intended.

Rating: M for adult situations.

Summary: Abby usually doesn't watch the gang interrogate suspects; however, she witnesses the severe "bad cop" act by Tony and Gibbs and it upsets her. The men comfort her once they realize what has happened, and Abby learns much about Gibbs and Tony in the process.

Notes: This story is just a little comfort piece that I think about writing every time I see Gibbs or Tony getting rough with a suspect during interrogation. Please don't judge the details of the interrogation too harshly…they really aren't the point of the story. I write ménage; this is a rather tame version of it, but it is unequivocally Gibbs/Abby/Tony.

Exploring the Beginning of Truth

"Come on, Clyde. Give it up. You know you will, anyway. Might as well talk now," NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo dropped a think file on the metal interrogation room table. He then allowed his tall, toned form to fall into the stiff chair, keeping an eye on the wiry man sitting across from him. Tony hoped this guy hurried up and spilt his guts already. He knew they were running out of time to find the accomplice. Somewhere inside him, instinct was telling him this guy was not going to give up so easily.

Tony knew that behind him, Gibbs and Bishop were observing from the other side of the one-way mirror. He ignored the tumble his stomach did at the thought of his boss. Instead, he narrowed his eyes at Clyde and tried not to show satisfaction when the suspect squirmed a bit.

"Cly-de," Tony's sing-song voice got his attention when his eyes wandered to the mirror. Tony didn't want to give this guy time to think about who was behind it, because, as sure as Tony was breathing, he knew that their suspect had probably been in many rooms just like this one. "Let's talk about the murder of Staff Sergeant Riker."

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Beside Gibbs, Bishop bounced from foot to foot anxiously. Gibbs gazed at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Something to say, Bishop?"

The young analyst sighed, but didn't take her eyes off the two men in the interrogation room. "He needs to move faster. I don't understand why he's not yelling and getting in this guy's face."

The elder investigator gave her a wry half-smile. "Just wait a few more minutes."

"What if we don't have a few minutes? Tony needs to break him before we lose the accomplice's trail."

"We won't."

"Go in there and be the bad cop," she urged.

Before Gibbs could respond, Abby walked in, closing the door gently behind her. "I think I found something that might make being the bad cop a lot easier," she moved to the side of Gibbs that Bishop hadn't commandeered, then handed Gibbs a thin folder with Major Mass Spec's latest test results. He skimmed the page and looked at Abby. Her hair was in the characteristically braided pigtails, her pink skirt was pleated and short, and the white shirt she wore sparkled with pink skulls scattered in a random pattern. Gibbs noted that her white, platform shoes made her almost as tall as he.

"English, Abbs."

"Those test results prove that Clyde's son, Officer Grandon, was the one who pulled the trigger on Staff Sergeant Riker. The DNA results don't match exactly to Clyde here, because, well, of course they won't due to…"

"Got it, Abbs. Time to speed this up." Gibbs dropped the file on the counter and left both women standing in the observation room. He felt their eyes on his retreating form. He hoped Abby would get back to the lab, and soon, because he had a feeling the interrogation was about to get ugly.

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Tony looked to the door as it started to open. He knew it would be his boss before the older man came into view. He silently sent a "thanks" into the universe, because the look on Gibbs' face told him it was time to play his favorite interrogation technique.

Bad cop, bad cop.

Gibbs surveyed the scene. Tony's posture told him that his intrepid investigator was getting impatient. _Good_, he thought ruefully. _I'm ready for this guy to sing. And I'd better like the song._

"You know what it means to be held as a terrorist?" Gibbs' voice carried no inflection; he was matter-of-fact as he took the seat beside Tony.

DiNozzo was used to this tactic, and he knew the role he would need to play. He looked at their suspect. Clyde sat, hands folded in his lap, and did not say anything.

"It means I can hold you in this room for the next hundred years and not have to account for it to anyone," Gibbs leaned across the table, staring Clyde down.

Clyde smirked in response.

Tony saw Gibbs' mouth twitch slightly. Gibbs was just warming up.

"It also means that I can charge you with a litany of crimes. When the execution sentence is handed down, you'll wish you were still in this room."

Clyde registered a slight panic. _Afraid to die_. Gibbs' mouth twisted again. He had found the weakness and he would use it.

NCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS

"How long will this take, do you think?" Abby asked Bishop. When the blonde gave her a questioning look, Abby inclined her head toward the two NCIS investigators now circling the suspect.

"Hopefully not much longer," Bishop looked at Abby for a moment. Then she asked, "You never watch?"

The scientist shook her head. "No, usually I'm in the lab when all the interrogation magic happens. I did watch one time…" her voice trailed off and she wrung her hands a little. She shook her head then, determined to ward off thoughts of Mikel the Crazy Psycho Stalker Dude. "But I got pulled away before the guy broke."

Actually, that was only half the truth. Gibbs was emphatically against her observing the interrogation the second time he went in the small room with Mikel. He had forbid the whole team from watching, and later, as Gibbs relayed the events to her, Abby had been shaken but glad she'd not seen it.

"Oh," Bishop nodded her head. "Who…" her ever-inquisitive mind wanted to know more about the interrogation that bothered Abby so. However, before she could finish the question, a loud _bang_ drew both women's gazes into the interrogation room.

Abby saw Gibbs to Clyde's right and Tony to his left. Tony had slammed the file he had been holding down in front of Clyde. The suspect showed more fear than he had exhibited a short twenty minutes before. Gibbs leaned in then and said something neither observer could hear before he brought his hand down hard on the table.

Abby jumped at the noise, even though her eyes were glued to the scene and she expected it. Truth be told, when Gibbs and Tony went all alpha-male, her stomach always did pleasant tingles. She found the men attractive on a normal day, but the dominant male routine put her right over the edge. Abby briefly wondered what Gibbs and Tony would say if they knew their flashing eyes and growly-sounding commands fueled some amazing fantasies.

Today, though, too much was at stake for Abby to catalogue the cat-like moves of Tony and the barely-caged Gibbs aggression. Well, maybe she was still appreciating it. Just a little.

Gibbs chose that moment to verbally unleash on Clyde. Threats, insults, and a few legal terms she was sure he would never care about were all part of Gibbs' carefully considered barrage meant to inflict enough fear to make the suspect talk. Abby turned to leave at that point. She hoped the evil little man in there talked, but she did not want to see Gibbs and Tony this way.

Just as Abby was opening the door, Tony was opening it from the other side. She stumbled forward, and Tony reached out a steadying arm immediately, gentling his features as he looked at her.

"Sorry, Abby."

Abby tried not to think about how good his grip felt on her arm. "It's ok. Is he ready to talk?"

Tony's eyes gave her the once over, as if not quite believing the words she was saying. "Yeah, I think so," he said at length.

She nodded, then stepped around him, mumbling something about heading to the lab. She needed her sanctuary.

Tony watched her leave, then closed the door quietly behind him as he advanced into the room. He needed Bishop to fact-check a few things and then he had to contact their Army liaison. He would have to make sure Abby was really ok after that, though, because he did not like the look on her face as she'd left.

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Gibbs took a deep breath and put his head in his hands. Once they had gotten Clyde to spill his son's whereabouts, a flurry of activity followed, complete with military police, local police, and a suspect standoff that – happily – had ended without anyone getting hurt. Gibbs, Tony, and Bishop now sat at their respective desks to complete reports which would the Director in on the details of the case.

As Gibbs looked back up, he noticed Tony looking at him.

"Yes, Tony?" he questioned as a teacher might question an overly eager pupil.

Tony had finished writing his portion of the report, and was debating whether or not to tell Gibbs about Abby's behavior earlier. He had not been able to get her out of his mind, and he was unsure he wanted to examine that too closely. Tony did not realize he had been staring at Gibbs until the man pulled him from his thoughts.

"I…Nothing, Boss. I'm going to see Abby." Tony pushed his chair out and stepped around his desk.

Gibbs narrowed his eyes at the other agent. He noticed Bishop had stopped pecking away at her computer, and one glance her way confirmed she was watching Tony, too. Clearing his throat, Gibbs looked at her fully and gestured to her computer when she turned to him. Bishop quickly resumed typing.

"DiNozzo, come here."

Tony figured he wasn't going to get away that easily. He came to stand in front of Gibbs' desk, and Gibbs stood up.

"What's the problem?"

"Abby seemed troubled when she left interrogation. I've been thinking about talking to her all afternoon."

"Troubled how? And when did you see her leave?" Anything to do with Abby always had his attention. He resisted the urge to be mad at Tony for not bringing this to him earlier in the day. To be fair, however, after they knew Grandon's location, they had to move. Gibbs would not have been able to give Abby his full attention until now no matter what happened earlier.

"She had that 'I-Need-My-Lab-And-My-Farting-Hippo' look about her. She was leaving the observation room when I went in to talk to Bishop."

_Oh, hell._ Gibbs did not know she had been on the other side of that wall. He did not like Abby watching interrogations, and had gently insisted she stay out of the observation room. He had known something like this would happen eventually, because Abby's world was science-driven. Black and white. Even though she hinted at living in a very grey world, investigations were always about right and wrong, good and evil. Gibbs would sometimes have to be just as bad as the suspect in order to get what he needed. Those times got ugly, and he never wanted Abby to see him ugly. Today, she had seen _two_ people she always saw in control get a bit out of control. And she had been down in her lab all afternoon alone with her thoughts on the matter.

That was not good.

"Give me ten minutes with her and then come down, you hear?" Gibbs was halfway to the elevator before Tony's "Yes, Boss" made it to his ears.

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Abby moved quietly and efficiently between her computer and the evidence table. Like the others, she had a couple of last-minute test results to add to the Grandon file and wanted to just be done with it. The whole case left a terrible taste in her mouth. She finalized an evidence label, stuck it to a plastic evidence bag, and added it to the row of bags she had already readied for the permanent file.

She registered Gibbs' presence a heartbeat before he was beside her. Normally, Abby loved any interaction she had with him, but tonight she didn't want to get involved in another case. She wanted to go home. Still, Abby was nothing if not professional, so she forced a smile and met his piercing eyes.

"What can I do for you, Gibbs?"

Gibbs registered the notes of her voice and the fake smile she gave him. He did not like it, and instincts he tried his best to squash came to the surface. Whether it was just this case that was bothering Abby or not, he did not like seeing her troubled. He moved in closer to her left side, and, putting his right hand around her waist, he pulled her into him until her shoulder and arm were flush with his chest.

Putting his lips near her ear, Gibbs murmured, "Abbs, it's ok. I'm right here." He leaned in and pressed those lips to her cheek.

Abby closed her eyes and savored being so close to Leroy Jethro Gibbs. She had no idea how he knew she needed his comfort, but she wasn't going to eschew it. Turning fully toward him, she slipped her arms around his torso and leaned into his neck. Immediately, both of Gibbs' arms were around her, holding her tightly.

They said no words; none were needed. Abby concentrated on the masculine scent of him that wound through her olfactory senses; committed to memory how solid his chest felt against where her head rested; and focused on the delicious tingles he was awakening in her as his hands trailed abstract patterns across her back. Her shirt was so thin she could feel the heat of his hands through it. Abby readjusted herself, bringing them even closer, her front now flush with his front.

Gibbs knew he was in trouble the second she shifted against him. He had been trying to ignore what having her this close was doing to his decidedly very male anatomy. As long as he maintained a little bit of space between them he could cling to some semblance of professionalism. Abby was one of his team, and he cared for her. When she wasn't at her best, the machinations of his team suffered. At least, that's what he tried to tell himself when he had reached for her. But this closeness went beyond professional compassion, or even friendship.

Gibbs was aroused. He could not blame it on a near-death experience, emotional trauma, or even another redhead relationship gone bad. He was aroused because the woman who occupied his fantasies had molded herself to his body and he wanted to feel more of her. Distantly, he wondered what she would do when she realized what she was feeling. In anticipation of her negative response, he stood still, keeping his arms around her, but not applying any pressure to hug her close.

After Abby settled herself more firmly in Gibbs' arms, she registered two things: Gibbs' body was hard against her, and Gibbs' body was _hard_ against her. She froze, not holding him any closer but not pushing him away either. After a moment of contemplating what to do – ignore it, make a joke about it, or run for the hills – she knew she could not do any of those things. She had loved Gibbs for a long time, and the evidence of his attraction to her thrilled Abby. Instead of backing away, she nuzzled his neck and kissed the tender skin she found there. Gibbs startled and took a quick, deep breath. Abby pulled away enough to look up at his face.

He was quiet for a long while, staring at her, taking in every nuance of her expression. She bit her lip, and immediately his fingers were drawn to the soft flesh. His fingers traced back and forth, until Abby whimpered. Gibbs cupped her cheek, tilted her head to the angle he wanted it, and then gently his lips met hers. The kiss was an experiment of sorts, but the instant they connected, Gibbs knew he would die before he let this be their only kiss.

Abby's heart soared and, keeping her eyes closed as Gibbs kissed her, she would have sworn she was ten thousand feet higher in altitude than she really was. As their kisses grew more intense, Abby grabbed onto the material of his shirt in two firm fistfuls. Whatever it was that had prompted Gibbs to kiss her, she did not want him suddenly thinking it was a mistake and pulling away from her.

She needn't have worried. The moment she opened her mouth to his tongue's prodding, he knew he had to have her. All of her. The sooner the better. That thought brought him up short and he slowed down a little, going back to soothing, closed mouth brushes of his lips against hers. This was _Abby_, and he had to be careful. She was the most important person in his life now and he wanted to cherish her, not use her.

Yet another way Abby was different from other women.

Gibbs moved back slightly, taking a few seconds to breathe normally. He rested his forehead against Abby's, and his hands still framed her face. His thumbs caressed the soft skin as he whispered Abby's name.

Abby tried to catch her breath too, and the reverential tone Gibbs used when he said her name told her everything she needed to know about how he felt. Her hands came up to cover his. She just needed more skin-to-skin contact. Even as his touch and his kisses promised more, this was all they could risk doing at work.

The elevator chime should have motivated the two to part – quickly – but as Tony stood at the lab's threshold, neither had moved.

Tony squirmed. He was unsure of what he had walked in on. "You said to give you ten, then head down, Boss, so, I, well," he shrugged, then smiled. "Here I am."

Still the senior investigator and the forensic scientist said nothing, watching him silently.

"Ok, well, gonna go now. Reports to write and all…" Tony turned his back on them and tried to ignore the left out feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Abby sighed. "Tony, wait." She stepped back from Gibbs and crossed the lab.

Tony looked down at her.

Abby could not read the look on his face, and didn't like how awkward everything suddenly felt. To break the silence, she asked, "Are you ok?"

Tony smirked softly at that, then, bringing his hand up to her cheek as Gibbs had done, said, "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

She frowned, puzzled, but leaned into his touch all the same. "Why?"

"You had a look on your face when you left interrogation earlier. I want to know what put it there because I did not like it."

Abby's heart fluttered a bit. _This _is the Dominant Tony that she fantasized about. _Oh, he's still waiting for an answer._

"This case just got to me, that's all." She tried to shrug it off.

"The case or the interrogation?"

_How on earth did he know that?_

"Your eyes give you away, Abbs, so full of expression," he rubbed his thumb along her bottom lip.

Abby startled at the contact and took a step back from him. It's not that the touch wasn't nice. It was just too reminiscent of what Gibbs had done not five minutes ago. It was too intimate. Abby didn't see Gibbs in her peripheral vision anymore, and she worried about what he thought of Tony's actions. She didn't want the next flank Gibbs roasted over his fire to be Tony's.

"Tony," she started to take another step back but found herself stopped and steadied by hands on either side of her waist.

Gibbs' hands.

_Oh boy._

She turned to meet his eyes, and saw concern with a touch of amusement in the ice blue depths. "The interrogation bothered you?"

"Only a little."

Gibbs was annoyed. Firstly, that Tony knew what was going on with Abby before he did. Secondly, that Abby didn't tell him she had something on her mind.

Abby thought the look of annoyance was directed at her. She started chattering nervously. "It's not that my world is all sunshine and roses or anything. I get that you have to be all 'grrr' with suspects sometimes. But, I don't know, when I think about you two being all alpha-male and dominant and hot, I like to think about collars and handcuffs, but in a good way, not a 'grrr' way. You know? Well, I guess you really don't but…"

Abby's tirade was cut short when Tony kissed her. One second she was prattling on and the next second the younger agent's lips were on hers. He was not gentle like Gibbs. He was firm and coaxed Abby's mouth open with little effort. His hand held fast to the back of her neck while the other one skimmed down her side to her hip. She moaned into his mouth as his tongue flicked against hers.

When Tony swooped in to kiss Abby, Gibbs stepped forward bringing his front flush to her back. He held her hips firmly, and he felt Tony's hesitant touch against his fingers. Gibbs knew what he was asking. In answer, he turned his fingers until they gripped Tony's. Then, he put Tony's hand on Abby's hip, pressing the digits into her flesh, Gibbs' hands atop his.

The taller agent allowed Abby a second to breathe, and her mind started to catch up with the situation her body was in. As she reached for Tony's forearms to steady herself, both men observed her hands shaking.

Gibbs could feel the nervousness in Abby, and so he kissed up her neck gently. "This ok, Abbs?"

She tilted her neck so he could have better access. "Oh, yes."

"How about this?" Tony bent his own head and kissed the other side of her neck. He smiled against her skin when he felt her hand grip his brown locks. She hummed in approval.

Gibbs' hands were on the move again as Tony took Abby's mouth, although more gently this time. Gibbs untucked her shirt and touched the warm skin beneath it. He chuckled when he felt her muscles twitch beneath his hands.

"Ticklish, huh?" he murmured.

Abby broke contact with Tony's lips and panted. "Maybe."

"Mmm, good to know," Tony watched her carefully, not wanting to scare her but wanting her to know if she wanted two good Doms, they would happily oblige her.

The elder agent was less subtle. "When you're tied to my bed I'll find all your weaknesses, my pet." His hands flayed out across her stomach and he pulled her into him again.

"Oh, gosh," Abby gasped when she felt Gibbs' enthusiasm for tying her up against her backside. Her eyes met Tony's when he yanked her ponytail enough to get her attention. He stepped forward so that Abby could only wiggle between the men.

"I can't wait, Boss. It's been a while since we've trained a new subbie." His words were addressed to Gibbs but his eyes were on the scientist between them. He hadn't planned this, hadn't even consciously entertained serious plans to take Abby this way, but he could not deny how perfectly she fit against them.

Her eyes went wide, and then she was fighting – truly fighting – the men to put some distance between herself and them. Gibbs and Tony released her immediately, and let her have the space she seemed to want.

"You two have" – she waived her hands in front of her as if that explained the concept – "before?"

"Yes," Gibbs said matter-of-factly.

"So you really are, I mean, the whole 'grrr' thing, it's not just an act?"

"Nope," Gibbs again.

Tony held his tongue watching the exchange. He knew Abby would tire of monosyllabic responses, and then he would have to talk to her. He didn't have to wait long.

"And you – both – want me?" she had backed up against the evidence table and was holding its edge in a death-grip.

Tony stepped forward and started to speak before Gibbs could answer.

"Yes, Abby. It would be our pleasure to give you what you need." He still kept his distance, but he and Abby were only a couple feet apart now. He felt Gibbs move up beside him.

"Abbs, have you ever played before?" While Tony and Abby were speaking, it had occurred to Gibbs that maybe Abby had just read a couple of books or visited a couple of websites. Perhaps she didn't have any actual experience. If that were the case, he would have to amend his strategy a bit.

"I've stood in a time or two for a friend. Just, you know, a flogging scene or something. But I've never had a Domme or Dom of my own before, and I've never scened with more than one person."

Gibbs stepped forward and didn't stop until he stood in front of his fearless scientist. "Would you like a Dom?" He didn't wait for her answer as he leaned in to kiss her. It had been less than an hour since their first kisses and already he was addicted.

"Or two," Tony murmured in her ear as Gibbs continued to kiss her. "We will make it so good for you, pet." He rubbed her back.

Abby was on sensory overload. Between the kisses, the caresses, and the words, she was completely overwhelmed. On the other hand, she rather liked that she could be overwhelmed and reach for the two men she could trust to bring her through the emotions safely. When she could breathe again, she simply nodded at both men in turn.

"No, I need words, Abby. This is nothing without communication," Gibbs held her chin firmly in his hand.

Abby resisted the urge to balk at that comment considering who it was coming from. Tony did not resist, and Gibbs gave him a stern sideways look.

"Yes, I want this," Abby made her voice work.

The agents rewarded her with smiles. After a beat, Gibbs said to Tony, "Follow Abby to her apartment and bring her to my place. She won't need her car." To Abby, he said, "Shut these machines down, pet. Pack a bag for the weekend, and then let Tony drive you to my house. You're staying with us for a couple days." He gave her a wry smile. "I wouldn't pack too many clothes. I like my sub to be accessible anytime I want her."

Abby shivered at Gibbs' words. _Oh, yeah. There's the growl. This is going to be good._

**What do you think of my first NCIS fic? Yes, I'm leaving it here. I have no plans to write a Part II, although if you are interested in my NC17 stories, please check my profile for information on how to find them.**


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